Jonnie Shearer came up with the idea of a natural energy drink after leaving university in 2004. He experimented with various flavours and tested two at Holly Branson's Christmas party that year. Inspired by the name Virgin Group owned by Richard Branson, Holly's father, Shearer decided to name his drink Pussy.[2] Shearer launched his company in 2006, and started marketing Pussy in 2007. Initially Shearer ran his company from his bedroom, and delivered the drinks to clubs and bars himself. By the summer of 2011 Pussy was sold in 3000 shops in the UK, including Tesco and Selfridges, and exported to 18 countries, with sales of up to 200,000 cans per month.[7] By April 2012 sales had increased to 500,000 a month.[8]